The Weeknd XO

Two Icons Collide.

When presented with the opportunity to collaborate with The Weeknd, we thought it a perfect chance to unite an art legend and a pop icon together through unique tour apparel. Futura is a pioneer in contemporary street art, introduced during progressive movements in the 1980’s alongside contemporaries, Keith Haring, Julian Schnabel and Jean-Michel Basquiat. His career now spans over decades and through years of artistic output, he has developed a one-of-a-kind identity filled with historic and cultural importance.

Our challenge was to blend the distinct forms of Futura’s work with the powerful energy of a musical icon.

Curated Co-Creation.

Our objective was simple. We wanted to break the standard tour merchandising practice by co-creating product between a visual and a musical artist. The capsule was to serve as an example that tour merchandise can wholly represent a particular musical artist while simultaneously acknowledging the artistic value of distinctive visual artists. We wanted to present something new and different.

Discerningly Bold.

The limited-edition collection features a reinterpretation of the Weeknd's prominent XO logo rewritten in Futura's signature hand style. The capsule combines the contemporary artist's uniquely illustrated type treatments with Starboy album lyrics and color palette. From the initial inspiration to interlacing graphics, the project was a comprehensive and fully synergistic combination of various creative professions; requiring participation across all functions of creative ideation and strategy, art direction and full graphic design application.

The capsule included Alpha Industries MA-1 bomber jackets, Levi’s denim jackets featuring embroidery, skate decks, caps, and an array of hoodies and tees. Select cities were marked with exclusive colorways. Los Angeles featured styles available in red, New York in army green and Toronto in blue. They were launched and available only at corresponding pop-up locations during the week of each of their respective tour dates.